The Great Magnificence of the Moor
by Creatoriginsane
Summary: "There is a certain darkness in these woods, and I want you to find it." With the human kingdom and the magical Moor united under one queen, there stands a new villain hidden in the furthest reaches of the woods.


_The Great Magnificence of the Moor_

_A/N: I just watched Maleficent recently and thought of exploring a darker side of the Moor because the movie was below my expectations. *sighs*_

_The six scenes below serve as the backbone of a fuller piece._

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_"There is a certain darkness in these woods, and I want you to find it."_

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Maleficent smirked at the outcry of the helpless animal.

"Turn me back!"

Rather, former animal.

"No." She smirks. Her bright green eyes glance downward at the naked form of a woman.

Dark yellow eyes peer up at her, looking frightened and disgusted at the same time.

"I don't like this body."

She turned to Diaval, who is perched up at the trees in his human form, clinging onto the trunk as if his life depended on it. She chuckles, "He didn't either at first, but look at him now."

He rolls his eyes. "I still find my original form more appealing."

A feral grim sprouted on the naked woman's face. "I do, too."

To which Diaval replied with a pleading, "Don't let her anywhere near me."

Maleficent laughed, "Now, now. Where's the fun in that?" She turned to the woman, "Aren't you thankful that I turned you into a more useful creature?"

The woman sat up on her knees, and looked up at Maleficent, "Why did you do this?"

"You were chasing after my Diaval with fangs bared and claws out, naturally I had to save this little bird."

The woman's mouth hung agape. "Oh."

"You could have turned me into one of those filthy dogs." Diaval spoke.

"And ruin the fun?" Maleficent asked jokingly.

The woman stood up, a little unsure about her footing, but stilled herself once she got her balance, feeling a chill run across her bare body. She looked at Maleficent eyeing her from head to toe and frowned, "There's nothing fun about this body, I tell you."

Diaval agreed on her with that, "I agree, I'd rather-"

"Hush, now." With a wave of Maleficent's hand, Diaval was turned into a raven. She turned to the woman, "What is your name?"

She looked up in awe. "You can turn him into anything?"

Maleficent replied with a wide smile. "And I can do that to you, as well."

The woman stood then, and walked forwards. "Can you turn me into a dragon?" She whispered as if maliciously.

She waved a finger at her, "Not here, lovely."

She frowned, but was quick to become overjoyed, words spilling out of her mouth almost at lightning speed. "How about a snake? A vulture perhaps? Oh! How about a lion? A lion with wings! A griffin. Do griffins still exist, though? Say, can you turn me into a grif-"

Maleficent snapped her fingers together and the woman reverted back into her original form as Diaval transformed into his human self. The woman, now a black cat, mewled loudly in complaint.

Maleficent turned to Diaval, "She's just as loud as you, maybe even louder."

The look on her face made him think of the worst. "You don't suppose-"

He only merited a sly grin from the fairy, before she turned to the cat, "If you want to be a griffin, darling, I can turn you into the most ferocious one there has ever been."

The cat's eyes widened in glee, following Maleficent as she walked away.

Diaval tried to sway her. "No. You aren't really considering-"

But he was turned back to a raven before he even got to his point.

"Why not? Two familiars are better than one. You're my wings and she's my teeth."

She sent a quick glance at the cat, who followed her diligently.

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Maleficent looked at the woman, now cleaned and dressed to her liking.

"What brings you to the Moor?"

The said woman looked up from her inspection of her clothing. "Why do you ask?"

"Creatures like you are a rare find in this part of the woods." It was true, black cats in the Moor were seen as often as a glowing blue moon.

The woman looked from left to right, right to left, her eyes always avoiding Maleficent's. "I was looking for something, then I got lost, and then I got hungry, and bird-brain over there came along, and then you found me."

She narrowed her eyes. "What were you looking for?"

She looked right at her then, dark yellow boring into bright green, "They said there was something in the Moor that can create thunderstorms and crumble mountains, something dark and powerful."

Diaval whispered to her, but it was loud enough for the woman to hear. "They must be talking about you, mistress."

She swatted him away, "Nonsense, fairies are against destruction, but even if they aren't, they aren't capable of doing so."

"But you made it rain inside Aurora's cottage!" He exclaimed.

She laughed. "What harm does rain bring? For all we know, it might have given them a bath. "

The woman's eyes widened, words flew out of her mouth faster than the falling leaves, "You can make rain? Can you make rain here? I've been needing a bath ever since I fell into the trolls' cavern. Ugh, I can still smell the rotting goatskin and spoiled beetletoes."

Maleficent stopped her, her tone disbelieving. "You were in the Underland Marsh?"

She nodded, and continued to explain, her pace never slowing, "I fell, but first I was running away from a dragonkin of some sort. It had the face of a woman, but the body of a bird. It was completely terrifying! Is she your mother? Will she come after me if she knew that I wanted to eat you? Oh no! Please tell her I was just hungry and meant no harm, I-"

Maleficent waved her hand and had two roots sprout up from the ground and force the blabbering woman to sit.

She stood from her throne, eyeing the woman dangerously. "I don't like loud-mouthed cats."

The woman averted her gaze to the ground.

"Now, answer me this, why were you in the Moor?"

The woman's tone softened to a whisper. "I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Magical energy surged into Maleficent's palm.

"Master's going to get angry." She hissed.

"Well, your master isn't here now, is he?"

She hesitated before answering, "No."

Maleficent crouched down and leaned forward, placing her fingers on the woman's cheek. "Tell me, little lion, what does your master want from the Moor?"

"He wants to destroy the darkness hiding in it."

She stood. "Then he will find nothing of the sort here."

"But he told me!" The woman snapped her head to her.

She sat back on her throne, releasing the roots clamped on the woman's arms. "The darkness of the Moor has dissolved. There is no evil thing in these woods."

The woman rubbed her arms. "You are certain?"

She leaned back on her chair. "Very much."

She bowed in respect before turning away. "Then, I shall go and tell my master."

"But if you do, make sure that he doesn't come here, alright?"

She craned her head over her shoulder and smiled cheekily. "Of course."

"Or else you shall see how the darkness of the Moor once was."

The woman stilled before asking, "Turn me back into my original form? I run much faster."

Maleficent rolled her eyes and snapped her fingers. The woman now shrunk into her form of a black cat, and almost immediately burst through the halls, jumped to the window, and left.

Maleficnet murmured to Diaval. "You are no longer my wings, but my eyes. Follow her."

"And endanger my life?"

Her tone struck seriousness as she eyed him. "Follow her, Diaval."

He bowed half-mockingly. "As you wish, my lady."

To which she sighed inwardly. "I dislike that endearment."

He stood, "Of course." But bowed back down and kissed her hand, "Queen." He smirked as he rose to meet her gaze, but was met with a swat of her hand and the uncomfortable feeling of shape shifting mid-step.

He grumbled as he flew outside the window.

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The cat stopped walking. "I know you're there, pesky little bird."

And the raven appeared from behind the tree. "You're still in the Moor. I can't help but think that you're slower in your original form."

She rolled her eyes, and sat down on the moss. "I don't have wings now, do I? I can't really see a way out from down here."

"Have you tried the trees?"

She nodded. "I have."

"And?"

"I can't see anything but green."

"The castle is that way." He lifted a wing to the left.

She yawned. "Great, now I have to keep on heading straight and hope that there isn't a gaping hole in the ground or a deep river."

He flew down to the ground, but still maintained a distance from her, fearful that she might pounce on him. "Actually there is, not too far from here, you'd either have to swim across or walk around it."

Her eyes narrowed. "You're no help at all, bird."

"Fine, I'll help you." He shrugged.

She pouted and began to stalk away. "No, go away, I'll just go and try not to drown in the river."

He flew and followed her, calling out, "Keep in mind that after the river there's sometimes traps set by the local folk to catch beetlebugs and flying-fish."

She stopped in her tracks. "You're kidding."

He flew down again and looked at her scowling face, feeling quite amused with himself. "Come along, the castle's this way."

He flew towards its direction and she followed him, albeit having difficulty in climbing up trees and boulders.

When they reached the end of the forest, she was on the field while he was perched on a scorched tree branch.

She spoke to him, "You can leave now."

"I know."

"Bye, crow." And she started to walk away.

But he followed, stopped right in front of her and had his beak at her face. He spoke, feeling insulted, "I'm a raven. There's an obvious difference. Ravens are-"

She walked past him, suddenly losing interest in digging her claws into his body. "Same thing. They're both pesky black birds."

He watched her go. Mumbling, "So long, cat."

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Unfortunately _so long_ wasn't as long as he'd like.

She screeched as she umped from the windowsill to the floor.

"He's dead!"

He sighed, having not noticed the body. "He's just asleep."

She ran to the man's body, circling it like a manic cat-that she is. "Can't you feel it? The magic running across his cold body? It's real. It's there."

He looked at the man, he was dead, but not from any magic he's ever seen.

"No." He shook his head. Humans are violent creatures and this was just another thing to loathe about them, murder.

She jumped atop the table, knocking one candle off, to speak to him. "He's dead! The source of the evil killed him because he sought to destroy it!"

"There is no evil in the Moor." He deadpanned.

"How could you be so sure?"

"I have lived there all my life."

She scrambled over the desk. "And have you not seen any evil? Any anger? Destruction? Rage?"

"I have." He's seen it and he's was in love with it.

She jumped on top of a pile of books, closer to him sitting by the windowsill. "What happened to it? Where is it now? Who caused it?"

"What matters is that it's gone now. There is no more darkness in these woods and there will never be."

She jumped back down, to the man left cold on the floor. "How can you be so sure?"

She looked at the man for one long time before jumping up and to the window. She jumped down and began to run.

But he followed her effortlessly. He called out, "Where are you going?"

She stopped mid-way on her climb up several stacked crates, "To somewhere I can be safe."

He hesitated before saying, "Goodbye, cat."

She smiled, baring her sharp teeth, "Goodbye, crow."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm a raven. Don't compare me to those pigs."

She laughed as her final goodbye.

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"Diaval!"

He was greeted by the sight of Maleficent standing in the old castle's library, books and tales of the old scattered about her. She was quick to wave her hand and have him in his human form.

He stepped over pages and books, "Yes, mistress? What is it?"

"Are you familiar of the old tale of the Moor?"

He stopped. "Not quite."

She paused, but her lip quickly and went in search of a book, saying, "Do you know what black cats symbolize?"

He knew this fairly well. "According to legend-"

She threw an old book to him, a grimoire. "Witches."

How such work of magic still survived the overgrowth of the Moor in this castle baffles him.

He quirked a curious brow as he skimmed his eyes over the pages, over spells and incantation written in a strangely familiar text, "So the cat was a witch?"

"I'd think so."

"But she was looking for something in these woods. Are you saying that she's looking to steal whatever this is?"

"Fairies." Maleficent gasped. "She's looking for fairies." Suddenly, fear crawled into her face, her expression falling.

"Fairies? But aren't witches-" Diaval stopped himself upon the realization that witches utilized magic from other creatures and objects in order to cast spells. Humans might be able to practice magic, but they can't create it.

"Yes. She's looking for fairies."

Maleficent walked towards the window.

"And she's found me."

Outside, the Moor sits under the sunlight, an ethereal glow surrounding it.

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Meanwhile, beneath the grounds of the castle lay a dungeon.

One of the guards spoke, "Where's the cat?"

To which the reply was, "Gone."

"Gone? What do you mean gone? We had her locked up."

The two guards looked inside the cell, and saw a wicked rune burned into the floor.

"Apparently the cat has friends."

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And farther from the castle, lay an old cottage in the woods, overrun by flora and fungi. The thick trees allow little sunlight to stream into the already foggy woods.

A black cat approached the cottage, stretching languidly as it slowly transformed into the form of a human woman, dressed in black and olive green.

Her dark yellow eyes flashed a sliver of bright orange as she stood up.

"It's so good to be back home." She whispered to herself, unlocking the cottage's intricate lock with a flick of her wrist.

When she shut the door, a wicked symbol carved itself upon it, as the overgrowth receded, the old age of the cottage being replaced by a fresh coat of paint, a clean set of tiles, clearer windows, and a crisp new roof.

Inside, she panted, wiped the sweat off her brow, and sat on one of the chairs. She's used up quite a lot of magic today. Putting the guard-on-duty to sleep, escaping from the prison, shape shifting into a cat, masking her ability, running from predators, escaping from traps-she's tired and wants nothing more than a good rest and a belly full of mushroom soup.

Other than revenge, of course.

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A/N: So. Review...?


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